Video game ramblings

Circling Forward 4-22-17: The One Where I’m Still Alive

It feels like it’s been a long time since I posted anything on this blog. Looking at my home page as I write this, it’s apparently been nine days since my last post, which I guess isn’t too bad. But, between constant delays of Dragon Age: Origins Check-In Week 5 and me missing Random Game Wednesdays this week, I thought it would be a good idea to address what’s going on. Don’t worry, in theory it will be smooth sailing for the foreseeable future.

The big thing preventing me from getting Dragon Age up in a timely matter has been work. I’m currently in the process of transferring to a location that’s much closer to where I live, however I’m still doing some shifts at the old location. With situations arising at both stores, I’ve been working way more hours than I typically would. And I’m not complaining, I love my job and these have been some of the best paychecks I’ve ever received. But that kind of thing does cut into how much time I can spend on the blog. I really enjoy writing about video games, but as of right now, it’s a hobby, and my job obviously must come first.

Random Game Wednesdays ain’t going anywhere!

I’m almost always off on Wednesdays, which is the reason why I chose Wednesday as the day that I would do weekly posts about random games. Funny thing is, I actually got about halfway through writing this week’s edition when suddenly my power went out. Turns out I was just a little too late on paying my bill. Don’t be like me, pay your bills on time.

I finally got all that sorted out and my power was restored earlier today. Thankfully, WordPress is good about auto-saving your work, so that first half of my post is still there, and I will finish it for this coming Wednesday. Also, while I’m not making any promises, my current plan is to get Dragon Age: Origins Check-In Week 5 up tomorrow.

I’m a little bit worried about how this particular entry is going to turn out. You see, I did the actual playing for this post at least two or three weeks ago, so it’s not exactly fresh in my mind. A friend of mine (the same one I’ve mentioned in both the Xenoblade Chronicles X Check-In series and the Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Check-In series) watched me play and helped remind me what all happened. So, hopefully it’ll turn out all right.

This guy’s excited for more Dragon Age!

So, other than that, what else have I been up to? The main game I’m focusing on right now is still Yooka-Laylee. Like I said in my first impressions post, reviews have kind of been all over the place, and I still land on the positive side of the argument. I participated in the Kickstarter campaign with the understanding that I was helping fund a new Banjo-Kazooie game, and I feel like that’s exactly what we got.

As of right now, I’ve unlocked four out of the five worlds and have 100% completed the first two. Those first two worlds are wonderful and really feel like a new N64 era Rare game. I’m not feeling as strongly about world 3 right now, which is what I’m currently working on. It’s still fun, but it just doesn’t seem as well thought out as the first two. I’ve gone in to world 4 and it seems interesting, but I didn’t stick around very long. I basically got a move I needed to finish the first two worlds and then got out of there.

About as malnourished as my site lately, am I right?

I’ve also stared playing Persona 5. I’m playing the PS3 version because I still don’t own a PS4. I gotta say, it felt really strange buying a new PlayStation 3 game in 2017. But anyway, I’m not very far into the game, a few hours tops, but I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s got a real sense of style to it that sets it apart from the many other games out there.

I have a very limited amount of experience with the Shin Megami Tensei series, including Persona. I was introduced to the franchise by Giant Bomb’s Persona 4 Endurance Run, although I fell behind pretty quickly and never finished watching it. I did however watch the anime adaption of it. I’ve also played some of Shin Megami Tensei IV, but got distracted by other things, which often happens to me with longer games. And then, obviously, there was Tokyo Mirage Sessions.

This makes Persona 5 the first time I’ve played in actual Persona game. I haven’t had a ton of time to devote to it, what little spare time I have had I’ve been throwing at Yooka-Laylee instead, but I can already tell that this game is special. I’m hoping to have a lot more to say about it soon.

This isn’t Persona, but I don’t have an easy way to make PS3 screenshots, so this is as close as it gets

Beyond that, while my power was out, I spent most of the time I wasn’t spending at work at my mom’s. So, most of the games I was playing were on the Switch in portable mode. I went back to Snake Pass, which I beat not too long ago. I still have a ton of collectibles to get, and it’s been a lot of fun going back and trying to get them. I’m planning to write a full review of the game, so I’ll keep my thoughts brief for now, but I like Snake Pass a lot. If you like collect-a-thon style platformers but want to try something that is drastically different from the norm, I very much recommend Snake Pass.

And I guess that’s it for now. Hopefully, I’ll have a new Dragon Age Check-In up tomorrow and I’ll finish writing this week’s Random Game Wednesdays post as next week’s. Also, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes out in six days as of the time of this writing, which means that there might actually be some value to having people on your Nintendo Switch friends list. I know I’ve posted it before, but I’ll include my friend code just under this paragraph, so feel free to send me a request. Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll enjoy what I come up with in the coming days.

P.S., It’s come to my attention that I’ve spelled “Atlus” wrong in my tags for like a year now. Guess I have to go retag all of my Tokyo Mirage Sessions series.